No More Official ‘Minecraft’ Beta Updates

Minecraft is dead. Long live Minecraft. Wait, don’t panic! Notch announced this week that not only is the huge Adventure Update continuing to increase its scope as it grows into a final product Mojang can be proud of, but also casually mentioned that there will not be any more updates to the Minecraft Beta we have all become so fond of over this past year.

That’s right, the Beta is finally coming to an end as Mojang makes way for the “final” product. This does not mean Minecraft-fanatics will have to sit on their hands until November though.

Notch and Jeb will continue to release pre-release updates on a weekly (or so) basis up until MineCon, where the official Minecraft will be unveiled. Be sure to keep an eye on their Twitter feeds if you want to gobble up the updates as soon as they hit the web: @notch & @jeb_.

For those who have been keeping up with the pre-release, this should come as neither a surprise nor as unwelcome news. The official Adventure Update 1.8 turned the world of Minecraft upside-down, setting the game on its path towards a final product. The subsequent three 1.9 pre-releases have been packed with content as well, adding villages, new dungeons, new mobs (baby animals! eep!), alchemy, and pretty soon, dragons. At this rate, Minecrafters might still be rifling their way through new content by the time MineCon comes around next month.

This is an exciting time for Mojang, indie developers, and PC gamers everywhere. This might be the first time in history that a major triple-A game will actually be competing for attention within a week of its release date with an indie title. November will be an interesting month.